LANTANA, Fla. — An assistant girls' basketball coach at a Palm Beach County high school faces sexual misconduct charges involving a student.
Michael Herbert Cohen, a coach at Santaluces Community High School in Lantana, was arrested by school police Wednesday night after a game.
In court on Thursday, a judge set Cohen's bond at $3,000, and ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victim, the school, or anyone under the age of 18.
Palm Beach County Jail records indicate Cohen, 26, a resident of suburban Lake Worth, was booked at 10:12 p.m. Wednesday.
According to a school district police report, the relationship involved a basketball player in 2017, who was in the 11th grade.
The inappropriate relationship included texts over GroupMe and Snapchat, as well as the exchange of photos and videos.
The police report said Cohen, who is also the assistant athletic director of the school, admitted to exchanging nude photos and videos with the girl and knew she was 17 years old.
The report said Cohen texted the girl, "I can't say too much, when you graduate I'll tell you how I really feel, lmao."
School district spokeswoman Julie Houston Trieste said Cohen "will not return to our campus pending the outcome of a police investigation."
In a call to parents, the district said he is a “non-instructional member” of the school’s staff and they “want to assure all of our families that our school and District take all allegations of misconduct very seriously.”
The call said “since this is an open investigation we cannot supply any further information about the incident at this time."
Cohen has been employed by the school district since 2015.
